HSR gives boost to property prices

By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Home prices near high-speed railway (HSR) stations have seen double-digit increases this year from last year, reinforcing popular belief that infrastructure facilities may fuel relocations and boost the property market, Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) said yesterday.

As of Aug. 31, people made 51.47 million stops at the nation’s six HSR stations in Taipei, Banciao, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung and Kaohsiung, up 7.52 percent from a year earlier, as bullet trains gain popularity, company manager Jack Chou (周鶴鳴) said.

The trend helped boost home prices in adjacent areas, with houses near Banciao station seeing the biggest jump, 18.2 percent this year to NT$650,000 (US$22,194.91) per ping (3.3m2), from NT$550,000 per ping last year, Chou said.

BOUNCE

Homes in Taoyuan came second with an increase of 16.2 percent from NT$185,000 per ping last year to NT$215,000 per ping this year, while houses in Hsinchu registered a bounce of 15.8 percent from NT$190,000 per ping to NT$220,000 per ping, Chou said.

House prices near Taichung and Kaohsiung stations grew 15.4 percent and 14.6 percent respectively, and their counterpart in Taipei advanced 6.3 percent, Chou said, attributing the slower pace in the capital to an already high base.

Traffic flows — as measured by the number of stops — increased 13.6 percent at Taoyuan Station for the first eight months from last year despite the economic slowdown, followed by a 13.6 percent rise at Hsinchu Station and 10.37 percent growth at Taichung Station, he said.